She took a leap of faith and reached out via email: "I coach women with digestive health challenges & I'm looking for a way to share, with ease, recipes & meal plans to my clients."

Paula was only just starting her business at the time, and it was about getting comfortable with the basics of getting the word out about her services and finding clients - but first, she needed a way to reach people and also garner their trust. "I already have a lot of personal recipes written up on my computer, and I need to get them accessible to people."

While she was a "newbie" to the health coaching world, she wasn't afraid to network and put herself out there in order to explore available opportunities and resources within her reach.

"I knew of Meal Garden from a colleague, and so I check it out. After exploring the Meal Garden site, I knew instantly that Meal Garden was just what I was looking for to support my clients and my business!”

Thus, I thought it would be worthwhile for her to share her insights and experiences with the aim of inspiring others just starting their journey as "wellpreneurs"...

I noticed within a few months that my own health was beginning to take a downward dive

and this was alarming. I was experiencing:

Disruptive Sleep- lots of chatter brain in the middle of the night

Lack of focus- hopping from one task to another without completing one

My digestion started getting wacky- constipation wacky which for me is a clear sign that my body is off balance

I had to step back for a moment as my body was being greatly impacted by the “Busy Building a Business Syndrome”. Unfortunately, many wellpreneurs, mompreneurs, and any business owner can readily attest to having experienced this.

It’s that feeling of all the success is on your shoulders and if you don’t get the long list of To Do’s done right now your business won’t blossom.

You know that list… build your email list… write blogs... figure out how to do a sales funnel… answer all the emails… oh and don’t forget, actually figuring out how to best serve your clients (Just writing that list makes me want to scream. Okay, take a deep breath, let it out and read on).

Building your own business can zap you or build you up - Which are you going to choose?

I knew I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing or I’d be burnt out before I even got my business up and running.

So I decided I needed to take the advice I was giving my clients - Prioritizing Self Care from what you put in your mouth to what you think to how you spend your day.

It took a bit of time to sort things out and find balance. I did achieve it and now I stay happy & healthy while running a thriving business.

You don’t have to go through the bumps like I did.

Your Business Can Thrive and So Can You!

It is possible to start healthy and stay healthy from day one of your business.

Strategy #1: Get Support

Get support to help you through the ups & downs (Oh, there will be downs!). Support will keep you moving & thriving forward. Prepare your family and friends for the launch and building of your business. Let them know you will need them to support you, whether that is emotionally or by folding some extra laundry. Also, having a business buddy is a great way to know you aren’t in this alone and to be inspired.

Strategy #2: Use Your Strengths

What comes naturally to you? Make a list and use these areas to build your business upon and things will flow. Ask for help, barter or hire someone for the areas that feel like a struggle so you can stay thriving and focus on supporting your clients and enrolling new clients.

Strategy #3: Action with Ease

When looking at my To-Do list, I select something that feels comfortable and I start there as that helps my day flow from a place of success instead of a place of struggle. Action with ease & joy are the keys to success and the foundation of my business both personally and with my clients.

Strategy #4: Prioritize Eating Well

When I first started my FoodTastic Health Digestive Wellness business, on many occasions, I’d be working away and then all of the sudden I realized dinner time was upon us and I forgot to cook us dinner.

This is part that makes me laugh at myself, as a wellpreneur, I know the importance of eating high-quality home cooked meals. I’ve learned quickly one must take care of herself to best serve her clients, including eating well.

Paula and her son enjoying a home cooked meal they prepared during their trip to Italy.

Strategy #5: Invest in Yourself

As health practitioners, the place we shine as bright as the sun is, well, health. I knew from the start that when it came to the business end of running a health practice, the clouds could quickly roll in and blocked my shining sun.

Being in the world of business was brand new to me. So I found myself a business coach, who I deeply adore and trust, & enrolled in her year-long business program for holistic practitioners.

This was and continues to be the wisest investment I made in myself for my business- as it provides me with the emotional support, plus the practical foundation with a clear path of actions I use to build my business.

Strategy #6: Patience is Power

Building a business takes time, requires learning new things, and will push you out of your comfort zone. With patience, you can do all that needs to be done, while knowing you are on the right path and that you are creating a thriving business one step at a time. Most importantly, patience with yourself will lead to more self-confidence and others will feel that, including potential clients.

Strategy #7: Celebrate Daily (or even hourly)

The most helpful emotional advice I’ve received as a business entrepreneur is...

“Celebrate all the success from the big ones to the little ones.”

I say, “Stand up and do a happy dance!”

Strategy #8: Bonus Strategy

The bonus is you getting to start your business while maintaining your physical and emotional wellbeing so your business can thrive.

No time like the present to start, right?

So I would like to offer a self-care challenge to you.

Select 3 or more of the above listed strategies and start putting them in place so you can have a thriving foundation from the start.

While our Meal Garden Professional software has come a LONG way since Paula first joined us, Paula navigated the tool like a pro from day 1, and took advantage of many of the different capabilities it has to offer.

I never tire of seeing Paula share some of her wonderfully curated recipe collections and specially designed meal plans on Facebook. Without fail, we always get an influx of new users signing up, on the hunt for some more of the content she's sharing within a few hours of her posting.

[Thank you Paula!]

"Meal Garden has saved me hours & hours of time and it will for you too. Trust me, I know since I started out creating meal plans by myself and that literally took me days & days. Now I hop on Meal Garden and can efficiently create a meal plan.

"Meal Garden is the place where I store recipes I personally created and have access to hundreds of other recipes so I can easily design a recipe collection or meal plan to best serve each clients personal digestive health needs."

"Meal Garden has a ton of healthy & tasty recipes, including my personal FoodTastic Health recipes which I can add at any moment."

"Meal Garden is designed so a health practitioner or coach can share meaningful content like articles or dietary guidelines for individual clients (of course) and even share them without a glitch onto social media like Facebook."

So what's the major takeaway here?

Hopefully you'll walk away with a few valuable and actionable tips, alongside some healthy inspiration. Mostly, I want to drive home how very capable you are of starting a nutritional coaching business - as long as that's where your heart lies. While it can be daunting, and needless to say it can feel risky and lonesome at times - it's important to remember you are NOT alone. There is help and support out there - you just have to reach out and ask for it!